CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the study

Education is viewed as crucial to empowerment. As a result, it is the key to national development. According to Ismail (2021), education is the sum of all the processes by which a person develops his or her abilities, attitudes, and other forms of positive behavior in the society in which he or she lives. Similarly, Eugene (2018) states that education is the knowledge of how to maximize one's potentials. To put it simply, a human being does not have proper sense until he or she is educated. This means that without the proper commitment, all education is pointless.

In general, education professionals believe that three elements determine the success of the teaching and learning process. The society, school, and family contexts are all interconnected. Miguel and Barsaga (1997) conducted a research that investigated the variables of teacher, students, parents, and community, and determined that teachers were the most important factor influencing students' accomplishment. Teachers are charged with the primary goal of ensuring that students learn effectively and efficiently, and in order to accomplish this goal, teachers must engage in a variety of activities such as planning, providing effective instruction, and evaluating learning activities using appropriate methods and techniques. Thus, the efficiency and quality of the instructor determine the quality of the teaching-learning process, which is especially important in the early stages of school when students are young. As a result, for the teaching-learning process to be effective, the teacher must be equipped with teaching competency. Teaching competency is defined as "the proper technique of transmitting to pupils the tasks of knowledge application and abilities." The proper approach involves content understanding, procedures, techniques, and means of expressing material. Donald (1982) defines teacher competence as "the information, talents, and beliefs that a teacher possesses and brings to the teaching-learning scenario." Being competent influences his performance and makes the learning process successful.

The quality of education is often judged by pupil performance on exams, and child achievement is connected to teacher competency and classroom performance. Thus, three conceptual dimensions of teacher quality that are often employed in making judgments about the work of teachers are teacher competence, teacher performance, and teacher effectiveness. Because "competent performance presupposes competence," teacher competency is regarded to be a causative component for success (Westera, 2007). Teacher competence differs from instructor performance and effectiveness in that it is a consistent trait of the teacher that does not alter significantly as the teacher travels from one circumstance to another. Although According to the research thus far, there is no unique set of competencies that all effective teachers possess or that all ineffective teachers lack. This is due to the fact that the idea of teacher competence is very situational and includes value judgment whether a single absolute set of skills is successful in respect to all types of learner groups. There are several approaches to classify teacher competency, which might be in terms of teacher function. Teachers essentially have two responsibilities in the classroom. I to establish an environment conducive to learning, i.e. the social side of teaching; and (ii) to transfer "knowledge" to their students using a variety of techniques, i.e. the task-oriented side of teaching. The social aspect of teaching may be referred to as "enabling" or "management functions," whilst the task-oriented aspect of teaching could be referred to as "instructional functions." These roles complement one another and are difficult to disentangle in practice. Various organizations have sought to classify teaching competency based on this assumption. For example, the British general has identified promoting learner autonomy, subject knowledge, course and session preparation and planning, teamwork, flexibility, assessment and evaluation of learning as essential teaching competencies to possess in order to make the teaching-learning process efficient and effective. While the Scottish General Teaching Council defines teaching competence as professional knowledge and comprehension, professional skills and talents, professional value, and personal dedication.

 For the purpose of this research work teaching competence for prospective teachers required by the department of education at Montana state university will be adopted. These include communication competence, intellectual competencies (conceptual, integrative and quantitative) abilities for problem solving and effective teaching, professional competencies, pedagogical competencies, behavioral competencies and social competence. Emphasis will be on pedagogical and behavioural competence and how it influences the effectiveness of the teacher in the classroom.

1.3       Statement of the problem

Most countries have made proper child education a priority. However, these youngsters are being denied their entitlement to an education. According to Ololube (2006), the current state of affairs in Nigeria's education system demonstrates that the country is on the wrong track when it comes to educating our children. Nigeria's educational system has undergone a number of fundamental adjustments during the last two decades. However, it is usually overlooked that most reforms do not prioritize getting our children's education properly, and measures aimed to increase school effectiveness and quality rather than ensuring that rules are executed as specified are hindered by authorities. Nigeria, on the other hand, cannot afford to be on the wrong side if we are to be admitted to the world committee of countries (Ololube, 2006).

Furthermore, there are several teaching strategies that may instill and provide students with understanding throughout instructional procedures (Harris & Muijs, 2005; Ololube, 2005b). But, do our teaching approaches activate the area of students' minds that produces insight? Similarly, varying degrees of classroom abilities are required of instructors in order to provide effective education (Creemers, 1994c,). However, many of our elementary school instructors lack the majority of these attributes. The most sad aspect is that for many years, the typical stereotype of our instructors who stand in front of the classroom and teach children has been at odds. Because most of the change agents that can improve academic brilliance are not widely accessible, friction and dissatisfaction have set in, and good learning is not taking place (Stones 1966). Pupils are suffering detrimental consequences on their learning, which has caused worry among all stakeholders in education, including the government, teachers, parents, religious groups, law enforcement, environmental agents, and society at large. The society cannot survive without mentioning the school as the primary agent of transformation.

Therefor it is unrealistic to anticipate great advances in student conduct, motivation, and success in the absence of adequate measures that can improve education per excellence. It is hoped that knowledge gained through studying the influence of classroom teachers' pedagogical and behavioral competency on the teaching-learning process would aid in dispelling the fallacy that most primary school students, educators, and the general public have about academic brilliance.      

1.3 Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of classroom teacher’s pedagogical and behavioral competence on the teaching-learning process in primary schools in Lagos State Education District V. Specifically, this study aims at examining:

1.      The relationship between teacher’s pedagogical competence and teaching effectiveness

2.      The relationship between teachers’ behavioural competence and pupils’ academic performance.

3.      The difference among the academic performance of pupils taught by teachers displaying ineffective, moderately effective and highly effective pedagogical competence.

4.      The gender difference in teaching activities.

1.5       Research questions

To direct this investigation, the following research questions were raised:

1.      Is there any relationship between teachers’ pedagogical competences and teaching effectiveness?

2.      Is there any relationship between teachers’ behavioural competence and pupils’ academic performance?

3.      Is there any difference among the academic performance of pupils taught by teachers displaying ineffective, moderately effective and highly effective pedagogical competence significant?

4.      Is there any significant gender difference in teaching activities?

1.6       Research hypotheses

The following hypotheses were tested in the course of this study.

1.      There is no significant relationship between pedagogical competence and teaching effectiveness.

2.      There is no significant relationship between teachers’ behavioural competence and pupils’ academic performance.

3.      There is no significant difference among the academic performance of pupils taught by teachers displaying ineffective, moderately effective and highly effective pedagogical competence.

4.      There is no significant gender difference in teaching activities.

1.7       Significance of the study

 The contribution that this study would make is in the provision of useful practical information on primary education for the Ministry of Education, while contributing to the intellectual debate and the literature on the relationship between classroom teacher’s pedagogical and behavioral competence and teaching effectiveness. A further contribution of this study is the attempt to assist curriculum development specialist and national policy makers who design teacher-training policy for primary schools.  The study investigates teacher competence i.e. pedagogical and behavioral competence of the classroom teacher and its effects on performance in a very specific setting taking into consideration the reality in Amuwo odofin, including the contextual constraints and the stage of development. The study provides a model of competency which could be used as a basis for the development of teacher-training policy and the design and implementation of a teacher-training curriculum. The study also provides an integrated approach model for developing teacher competence in teacher training institutions. It is hoped that the development of this model will also be a contribution to the literature on how to develop teacher competency in teacher training institutions.

1.8       Scope of the study

 The study was conducted in Lagos State Education District V. It was restricted to investigating the effectiveness of classroom teacher’s pedagogical and behavioral competence on the teaching-learning process in the private and public primary schools in the Education District. From the 44 public and 84 private primary schools, ten (10) were used.

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